"You sure you wanna do this?" Alyosha asked, almost teasing, as he pat down his newly bought PT Uniform:A black shirt bearing a dark-grey UNSC logo and combat shorts. Ahead of him, Rapi stood before him in a sports bra and shorts. Both had put wraps on their hands. She seemed pretty confident, her own hands wrapped up, as she bounced from one foot to the other.

She replied calmly, "Very much so, Commander," while she readied herself. Beside them, Chief and Cortana stood guard, with Cortana already tallying the score for what was gonna be a best-of-three sparring match. Anis and Neon were on the sidelines, while Pinne, Sammy, Layla and Delta were also watching.

Despite both of the fighters maintaining a degree of professionalism, this was quite literally the most skin each has seen from the other. Their cheeks warmed a little at the sight of the other's frame, with Alyosha being surprisingly well-built. Doctor Halsey had told them that the ARES program had simply added upon what was already there, so Rapi was pretty sure the Commander was just this ripped normally, which caused her mind to race a little.

It mattered little, though. Chief spoke, "Basic sparring rules apply. No hits below the belt. First on the ground for ten seconds loses. Watch your head blows," before looking at Cortana. Her hologram screen began counting down. The teams began to cheer, though for no particular side in this engagement. Blue Team, Johnson and Red Team had also arrived to watch the spar.

Alyosha smiled at her, causing her to blank for a sec. She and him walked and met in the middle, bumped gloves, then heard the buzzer go down. Much to Alyosha's surprise, his executive officer was first to swing. Low to high, an uppercut came that skimmed the man's nose. He felt the wind blow past his face as he went on the defensive, raising his gloved hands to block hits to the head.

Rapi, barely out of breath, began delivering several rapid-fire punches toward the man's face, then aimed low, for his stomach. She gasped as the man sidestepped her the moment he saw her make the switch. He cocked his fist back and threw the punch, striking the girl in the hip and causing her to stagger back.

He started swinging next, fists colliding with her hands like sledgehammer blows. High-to-low. He was trying to break through her defenses, outright dropping and spinning to deliver a roundhouse kick to the side that the girl deflected. She spun about, too, then threw a punch that struck the Commander's face, staggering him.

She swung low again, striking him across the chin and sending him stumbling back. She'd almost knocked him out of the ring and, going by the (Nikke) crowd's echoing vocalizations toward the man's pain, she'd done something. She smirked, watching the man recover, then surged forward, swinging for a knockout.

She gasped, however, when his eyes suddenly cleared. He lifted his hand to block the first strike, feigned a strike to the left to force her on the defense, then swung low with his right, striking her in the gut and causing her to cough. She smirked at that, feeling a bit of a familiar aggression come by as she returned the favor, delivering three rapid strikes to her Commander's stomach.

He was staggered, but replied by once again deflecting a hit, spinning about and grabbing her arm before spinning around and throwing her to the other side of the mat, causing her to land flat on her back and nearly out of the ring. She managed to stop herself and jump back to her feet, the two of them meeting and exchanging blows rapidly.

Cortana said, "Funny how a Special Purpose Nikke and an ARES Spartan are almost evenly matched," in a murmur, while the others were watching the show unfold, the Nikke and her Commander, though lacking bruises for now, going to town on each-other. She spoke, "It's rather scary, honestly… Rapi has a mean punch."

"Mean right hook, yeah," Chief replied with a nod of approval, watching the fight. Though every once in a while, he cast a glance over at Pinne. The girl seemed airheaded, distracted, simply 'being' there without actually, mentally being present as she watched the fight, her mouth hidden by her hand. He hummed, then felt a gentle elbow from Cortana in his shoulder.

She said, "Talk to her. She's been out of it ever since…" and she hesitated. The Spartan nodded, showing her to wait, before pausing as he saw the two had now locked fists, pushing against each-other with grins on their faces. Rapi's own eyes glowed a faint red, compared to their normal color.

She spoke, "Glad to know the ARES Crash Course came with a program for CQC."

"Been training a bit on my own even before that," He snorted, then said, "But look at you. Throwing those punches like a jackhammer back there," with a smirk. She nodded, thankful for the compliment. She lifted her leg and kicked him in the chest with the bottom of her foot just to get away. Both then surged forward and began throwing punches again.

Some were dodged, some were weaved through, some connected. It was honestly incredible. Almost like a choreographed dance. Chief would never say it to anyone, but he had trained Alyosha in secret during the month he was taking to his new body modifications. He was sort of a natural, but he'd never been as aggressive as he was here.

Then again, nor did Rapi ever show this kind of bloodlust. The pair heard Johnson cheer the Commander on as he swept the leg out from under Rapi, but the girl managed to barely regain her balance while attempting to return the favor. They weren't aiming or swinging below the belt, but they were throwing kicks, too, now. The first two rounds had elapsed, leaving a third after a tie.

The two continued to fight, Alyosha well aware that he needed to win now, or never. Rapi seemed well aware of it, too, focusing all her strength on pinning him. Heavy blows from both partners' fists struck the other, but the two continued standing. It wasn't until Alyosha managed to grab a hold of Rapi's shoulders and tried to sweep the legs again that they both went down.

Rapi had willingly grabbed onto him. If she was going down, she would take him with her. And she did, considering she felt the air knocked out of her machine lungs, her heart racing as the pseudo-Adrenaline of her Nikke systems flowed through her veins and into her brain. The two stared at each-other now, Alyosha being on top. They smiled, to which she told him, "Good fight…"

"Thanks. I had a good sparring partner," He chuckled.

"... Erm," Cortana snorted, "Commander?" and the two turned toward her. While Anis was laughing her ass off, Neon was busy hollering and Stella giggled mischievously(and the Spartans stared, most of them stifling their own laughs), the two didn't notice just how they were. Alyosha was very truly on top of Rapi. And they were relatively close, bodies pressed against each-other and everything.

And the Commander was not only on top, but he held Rapi's hands pinned off to the sides…

The two had a moment's pause to let it all fully settle, before both's faces burned a bright scarlet, embarrassment flowing. They both scrambled to take just seated positions, while Cortana chuckled and said, "Gotta say, Commander Harris. Mighty bold of ya~," which got quite a few more hollering laughs.

Johnson yelled back, "Betcha wish Chief did that with ya, though!"

She cast a glance back that chilled the very air between the two of them for a moment. Johnson immediately retracted his statement, raising his hands defensively when he noticed both Chief and Cortana now glared at him. He shook his head and mumbled, "Damn kids can't take a joke no more," before puffing from his cigar. Commander Keyes, who'd come to witness the fight, gave him a pat on the shoulder, too.

As the others began to file out, Chief looked over at Pinne, noticing she hadn't moved whatsoever. Sighing, he looked at Alyosha and Rapi, then said, "I'd suggest you both go get changed, sir…" before walking over to his team. Sammy, Layla and, surprisingly enough, Kilo, had noticed him coming. They nodded to him, then left.

Cortana helped Rapi and Alyosha get out with the rest of the Counters, while the Spartan sat down. He took his helmet off of his head, then gently raised a hand and tapped Pinne on the shoulder. The girl yelped, straightening out and saying, "I-I'm here, Do-..." only to catch herself and cover her mouth. She looked at the Chief, face red, then said, "O-Oh… Sir…"

"At ease," He spoke before she even got to say anything, "Are you alright?"

"Fine…" She lied, but noticed the stare the man was giving her. Like a concerned father. She breathed a deep, resigned sigh, then rubbed her face and mumbled, "Why do you do the worried dad face so well, holy…" only to slam her hands into the bleacher bench and sigh deeply, stating, "No, sir… I'm not. It's…"

"Niner," He spoke, "We're all still reeling-"

"Not just her death," The girl replied warily. She said, "The way she went out, sir. The Corruption, the glowing eyes, the…" and she scoffed, putting her face in her hands. She told Chief, "It felt so brutally familiar to me for some reason… And now, of all days, I start getting blurry visions, like I'm daydreaming… I see something pinkish, like hair. Tears. And… The chromed barrel of a pistol."

Chief hummed, thought for a moment, then spoke, "You remember that the Monitor at the Northern Base mentioned something regarding you?" to which she nodded. She breathed, worried, but Chief set a gentle, yet firm and friendly hand on her shoulder as he spoke, "It might have something to do with that… Neither he, nor the Librarian, gave us much to go off of in regards to the Recomp Station."

"So, what?" Pinne laughed awkwardly, "You saying I might be a revival? Sir, I remember walking off the assembly line at the Missilis factory," all while the Chief showed his concern. He gave his approval for her to continue by squeezing her shoulder. She breathed again, shakily, then rubbed her hands and thought, before telling him, "I don't know…"

"Keep us updated, then," The Spartan replied, calm, "If you get any more visions, I mean. Let me or the others know. If you want to, we can also go get you checked out by Doctor Halsey to give you a clean bill of health provided things get worse," and he kept a steady voice all throughout that. He didn't wanna worry the girl. He saw the surprise in her eyes, asking, "What?"

"... It's been months since we started working together and here I am," She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck, a feeling of awkwardness creeping up, "Still not used to people giving a shit about me as anything more than a war machine. Hell, sir, every time I receive a paycheck in the mail and write it in my checkbook, it's surreal… I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to the fact we're all Ark Citizens proper now. That someone gives a damn. Especially someone who's my commander."

Chief understood that, somewhat. He didn't know how much the UNSC viewed them as anything beyond posterboys and postergirls for their war efforts, but he didn't care. Unlike Pinne and the other Nikkes, the Spartans were made from a young age, molded into the Defenders of humanity. At least up until the Third Generation. The IVs and ARES were, too, but they were from other branches.

He told her, "It's a tough thing to get used to after a hundred years of them all putting their noses up at you," before taking his hand off her shoulder. He continued, "Despite everything, though, Nikkes still continued to act as the Protectors of Humanity. The people needed to be reminded that you're human, too…"

"Love'em or hate'em, Chief, they're still our people," She chuckled, "Like you said, we're all humans… Deep down…"

"Then keep reminding them you're human, too," He said, then stood up. He also added, "Like I said. If you need anything, or if these visions persist, talk to anyone. We're not the old Central Government," to which Pinne smiled and nodded. She snapped a salute to which the Spartan replied, simply dismissing her with a nod.

She walked to the door, stopped and turned, then said, "Thanks, Chief… Every one of us owes you a lot more than you'll ever know," before turning fully to face him, "And we, all of us, thank the maker every day we're your Nikkes. Niner did, too," and she scratched her cheek, a sad smile appearing, eyes narrowed, "She wouldn't have done what she did otherwise."

John hesitated for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "I know…" but left out something. A wish that she didn't need to sacrifice herself. He said, "Take care of yourselves," before walking out with her. Each took a different way away from the dojo within the gym, with Pinne herself heading out back to the HQ and their barracks.

She walked past several Marines and ODSTs who greeted her cheerfully. She replied in kind, obviously, not wanting to be rude. Still, those same thoughts played in the back of her mind, those visions. She nearly bumped into Commander Keyes, who was talking with Scarlet. Excusing herself and sidestepping them, she marched a bit more quickly.

When she finally got home, she sighed deeply, setting her gear down in her locket, then sitting on her bunk. She listened to Layla and Sam play videogames with Signal, all while Delta was practicing her combat knife tricks by spinning it around. She wouldn't exactly call it an overwhelming amount of noise, but…

She sighed deeply, put her headphones in and said to the girls, "I'mma try and take a nap," only to receive affirmatives and thumbs up from the group. Kilo herself smiled and waved, before turning back to whatever project she was working on. Pinne cast a glance over at Niner's old bed, which had been cleaned out, then sighed deeply, laying herself down on her bunk and pulling the blanket over herself.

Images of fighting soon played in her mind. Though blurry, she could tell the familiarity. Behind them, a compound filled with the corpses of former comrades. Ahead of her, an army of Raptures marching toward them. Beside her, a woman in a frilly white dress with pink hair, her voice soothing and kind.

She looked down upon herself, lifting her shotgun and racking it. Flashes of combat played in her mind, a team familiar, yet so different to how she knew them, supporting her. Her shotgun barked, Raptures fell, amorphous blobs of machinery. All she knew was that she needed to protect the Compound before her.

Then, a sting. Her chest burned. She looked down, the only thing visible on her dented and damaged armor being a small, orange necklace in the shape of some sort of flower or leaf. She put a hand up to it, gently lifting it to get a proper look, then gasped as a droplet of blood fell onto it. Her vision suddenly turned red…

And she looked ahead, at the pink-haired figure. She spoke, "Do… Ro… Thy…" her voice audibly glitching, faded, distant. She heard the figure pleading back toward her, then reached out for her, eyes glowing red. Another voice spoke to her, but it was muffled and distant. She pleaded, "Pl.. eASE… Do IT…"

The chromed barrel of a gun shone… Then flashed gold…

Pinne gasped, jolting awake, one hand on her chest, eyes wide. She felt herself cold, beads of sweat running across her body. Two hands clasped hers as she looked down at her lower half, which was covered by the blanket. Looking up, she paused as she saw Sammy staring at her, emerald eyes glowing. She asked, "Pinne…?" as Layla stirred awake and joined her.

"S-Sammy…?" She asked, brow raised. It wasn't this 'Dorothy', whoever she was… It was Sammy. Her teammate. She asked, "W-What happened…?" while feeling the exact spot where she had been stung, on her side, with her free hand. Her other remained, balled into a fist on her chest. Her tank top was doused in sweat.

Layla put a hand on her shoulder, then knelt in front of her and asked, "You were having a pretty nasty nightmare there. You okay…?" before she watched the girl grow just a hint paler, feeling her chest for something she seemed to be missing. She blinked, looked up at the girl and stared for a moment…

"Where's my necklace?" She asked, dumbfound.

"N-Necklace?" Layla raised a brow. She and Sammy exchanged a quick glance while Kilo, Delta and Signal had just woken up. The entire squad gathered up around Pinne as Layla told her, "Girl, you didn't come here with a necklace…" only to see the sheer confusion in her eyes. She murmured to herself, "'Kay…" before asking, "How's it look?"

"It's… An orange leaf with three points," She replied, breathing in, then out. Slowly, she seemed to be coming to from the nightmare and whatever state of fugue this was afterward. She told them, "I think I even know where to find it… Alongside someone that I know, maybe," before sighing deeply, "But we're not waking up the Chief at this hour…"

"And we're not going alone," Delta added as she approached. She said to Pinne, "We'll find your necklace… If you think it's that important?"

"It is," The girl whispered, "I don't know why. I just know it is…"

The entire squad exchanged glances, the tired Kilo and Signal both giving nods of approval for the mission. Everyone else seemed to agree, with Delta smiling at Pinne. She told the girl, "Go to bed. First job in the morning will be talking to Chief to retrieve that necklace, wherever it may be," before waving everyone off to sleep.


Eden…

The roof of Eden was strange. Aside from the obvious material construction that was the optical camouflage emitter situated on top, there was another, smaller garden here, protected from the elements. A garden where Six found some peace, enough to stare at the night sky above, a glittering dome of stars that looked a little stranger than usual tonight.

It was peaceful, he thought to himself. He wondered partially just what the hell had gotten him to the point where he was working with an entirely alien, highly-advanced formation of humans that employed Cyborg soldiers in combat. Then again, that sort of described ONI, too, to a degree. Except ONI was much less friendly than these guys.

He sighed deeply, staring up at the sky and wondering just when and if they were gonna get rescued off of this world. Or if his team was going to join him after everything that'd just happened to him, like awakening from the dead. Joining Inherit had brought a few boons now that he was living in Eden, such as new armor, equipment and the ability to learn what happened to the world around him through files saved on Eden's computers.

He sighed, scratching the back of his neck and thinking to himself about the files on the old 'Goddess' Squad, part of him wondering if they still roamed the surface to this day or if they were caught by the Raptures, herds of which travelled far away from the Surface City, only visible in the night due to the lights of their Cores.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder and looked up, to see Cecil. The young woman and local top scientist was now wearing a jacket over her nightgown. She smiled and asked, "I don't suppose I can join you?" to which he simply nodded, giving his approval. She sat down next to him, staring out into the darkness of the desert and saying, "I knew I wasn't going to be the only one who finds this spot soothing."

"Reminds me a little of home," The Spartan spoke, his voice low, quiet, as he looked at a comet that flashed across the sky. He looked at the girl, then asked, "Couldn't sleep, doc?"

She chuckled, then took a sip of her drink before answering, "I had to run some research for Dorothy late into the night and was about to go to bed. Decided I'd take some tea up here and drink until I got sleepy," while looking the Spartan in the eye. She asked, "What about you? I know your advanced biology and all allows you to stay awake longer, but you'd think that, after a decade of nonstop fighting, you'd enjoy a little me time."

"I'm waiting for our next job," He replied absentmindedly, then sighed, "Do you think I got revived here for a reason?"

"We all have our own reasons for existing," She nodded, then took another sip from her drink, "And we'll help you figure out yours, given enough time," then, she smiled kindly at him. For a moment, the Spartan's heart fluttered and his mind ran wild, unsure what to reply to that with. She chuckled, face slightly red, before commenting, "Anyways…"

"Right… I should probably go back to patrolling the dorms… Thanks," He spoke. She smiled again, then nodded, slightly cursing how much of a loner the guy was. She sighed, then paused as she saw him offer his hand to help her up. She smiled, then gingerly took the hand and felt herself lifted to her feet, thankfully without spilling a drop of her drink.

… It was a few minutes later that the Spartan was patrolling Inherit's dormitory, pausing only as he heard Dorothy's quiet weeping. He approached the girl and listened in, hearing her mention one name over and over. "Pinne…" He sighed deeply, then stood up and… When he heard a brick fly over, he slapped it back toward the thrower.

A thunderous crack echoed and Isabel whined, only to gasp as she saw him standing tall over her bed. He knelt in front of her and said in a cold, but low voice, "Let her be. Whatever she's going through, she has a right to cry about it just as much as you now do for taking your own brick to the face," only to see her swallow and nod quickly, turning away. He sighed, stated, "Good…" then walked off.

He heard Noah giggling silently in the background and rolled his eyes, then exited the dormitory only to come face-to-face with Johan. He raised a brow, to which Six said, "Isabel nearly woke up Dorothy with a brick to the face. Poor girl's crying in there," in a deadpan. Johan tilted his head forward in approval, then raised a brow again, with Six replying, "Yes, I did throw it back toward her."

"Good," Was all the Commander of Inherit said. He sidestepped the Spartan, a mug of coffee in his machine hand, then entered his office. Six entered his own room not too long afterward, setting his helmet on his desk and sitting down on his reinforced bed, still in full armor. There was something about dealing with this place, though. It almost reminded him of NOBLE Team.

Some part of him wondered if he was truly alone out here, just one UNSC soldier among the unknown humans of this planet. It'd be kind of depressing, but not necessarily a bad thing. That thought line was dashed, however, as he heard the radio receiver in his helmet crackle. He scrambled to his feet, marching to the helmet and putting it on just as a familiar seven-beat note tune played over it.

He blanked…